Why Dollhouse Was Renewed

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FOX bosses comment on bringing Whedon series back and their hopes for Season 2.

By Eric Goldman

In May, when FOX rather shockingly renewed Dollhouse, FOX's President Kevin Reilly joked that if he hadn't, he knew he would be inundated with phone calls and mail from upset Joss Whedon fans. Today, speaking to the press, Reilly was asked if it was really "fear" of fan reaction that caused the network to renew the low-rated show.

Reilly first joked, "You mean that 'Save Dollhouse' campaign that started before we even started making the Dollhouse episodes?", referring to a real campaign begun once the show was announced that even had many Whedon fans remarking it was probably more of a disservice than anything in regards to how the series was perceived.

More seriously, Reilly said, "You know, [renewing it] actually didn't factor in from a fear place. It factored in from a more positive place, which is those fans were there every week. They nurtured the show. They stuck with it in a way that a lot of television fans don't. They are just there with Joss. He delivered, and that's what gave us a very consistent cumulative 2 rating week in and week out and that, for us, on a Friday night, felt like enough of a base to give it another shot."

Click above to see what Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku told us about the new season of Dollhouse

Added Peter Rice, FOX's Chairman, "I think we felt that Joss is an incredible creator of TV shows. And the season got stronger and stronger creatively, and we felt that, by the end of the season, it had earned its return."

When Reilly was asked what the "mandate" was for Season 2 of Dollhouse, Reilly replied, "[For Joss] to keep doing what he's doing. That is really the gift Joss has. Some people can create a good show. Joss was pretty open, I think, about those hiccups [in Season 1], but I think, in the second half of the year, he really found the show. He started having a lot of fun with it. I don't think he was having a lot of fun with it early on. He was pulling his hair out, but he was fantastic to work with all the way through. And the fact that he found that, it's going to be much smoother sailing this year."